


Pace of Leisure

by xAoneko



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Coffee Shop, M/M, MAMA Era Powers (EXO), Rebuilding after a war, character/relationship study, mentions of other exo members - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:33:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27751588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xAoneko/pseuds/xAoneko
Summary: A look into the average day of Kim Minseok as the world rebuilds itself in the aftermath of a war.
Relationships: Kim Minseok | Xiumin/Lu Han
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19
Collections: Magika Astra: Round 1





	Pace of Leisure

**Author's Note:**

> **Conduit #:** MA20-023  
>  **Conduit:** Every day before work, Minseok likes to stop by the coffee shop and watch the owner use telekinesis to make several cups of coffee at once. Every day after work, he likes to stop by the coffee shop so that he and the owner can walk home together.

Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday morning, Minseok follows a specific schedule. He gets up at eight to wash his face and brush his teeth, eats breakfast at eight-thirty, and leaves at nine. His favorite coffee shop is a ten-minute walk from his house, and he always enters to the sound of chimes.

The owner, a man named Lu Han with soft brown eyes, looks over his shoulder and smiles at Minseok. Several spoons hover above the counter in front of him, each of them rhythmically stirring their own cup of coffee.

Minseok smiles back. “Morning.”

“Morning.” One of the spoons lifts itself from the cup of coffee that it had been stirring, lightly taps itself against the rim twice, and places itself in the sink with a clatter. Meanwhile, a plastic lid seals itself over the prepared drink, and the cup floats over until it is hovering in front of Minseok.

Minseok can’t help the smile that stretches across his face as he grabs the cup of coffee. “Lu-ge is so cool,” he remarks as he takes a sip of the drink and relishes in the bittersweet taste that floods his tongue.

Lu Han laughs. “I know,” he says, shooting Minseok a fond glance. “You’re very cool, too.”

The pun in that statement sends the two of them into a fit of snickers, and Minseok raises the coffee to his lips to hide the blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Where are you stationed today?” Lu Han asks as he turns on the sink with a wave of his hand. The silverware in the sink rises and begins washing themselves, filling the shop with the sound of gentle and rhythmic clatters.

“Yongwan Province,” Minseok replies as he sidles up to the counter. “I’ll be back a little late today.”

Lu Han smiles softly. “Okay. Be safe.”

“I will,” Minseok promises, “Jongdae is stationed here today, so he’ll keep you company.”

Lu Han makes a face. “You mean he’s going to insist on trying to make a fancy coffee to show off to Junmyeon and then pout when he ultimately messes up.”

Minseok lets out a loud bark of laughter. “The kid does his best. It’s also Junmyeon’s fault for letting him make a fool of himself instead of admitting that he likes him back.” He checks the time on his watch. “I have to get going now. I’m supposed to meet Sehun in Yongwan, and he’ll never let me live it down if I’m late.”

“Tell Sehunnie I said hi,” Lu Han says as he leans over the counter and plants a chaste kiss on Minseok’s cheek.

Yongwan Province is an hour away by train, but Minseok cuts the time by half as he flies there on an icy platform surrounded by two rings of ice shards that circle him protectively. As he arrives, he catches sight of the civilians hurrying about with various building materials in their arms. Sehun is hovering over them and supervising. His bottom half is missing, scattered around the area as hundreds of sheets of paper to monitor and help as needed.

Minseok is eleven seconds late, and sure enough, Sehun hounds him for it with lighthearted jabs until Minseok manages to slip away with the excuse of helping the Yongwan citizens rebuild. Not waiting for Sehun’s response, Minseok lowers himself to the ground and busies himself with creating wagons out of ice. He’s glad that the end of the war has brought back some of Sehun’s playful energy, but that energy can be too much for an old soul like him.

The civilians are ecstatic when they see Minseok and immediately ask him to help them move the heavier materials. Minseok obliges, conjuring up some icy ramps to slide the bricks onto the wagons with minimal effort. Several civilians wheel the wagons away to the half-finished houses that line the street.

Meanwhile, Minseok walks around Yongwan, surveying the damages that still need to be repaired. There are still several deep fissures in the streets from Jongdae’s lightning as well as toppled streetlamps and caved-in buildings. There is one street where every house is missing its windows, a consequence of one of Lu Han’s psychic waves.

Then, Minseok sees the familiar pieces of a white statue that used to stand proudly at the center of Yongwan. It makes him pause, even though it’s not his first time seeing it, but Minseok quickly gathers himself and keeps walking until he steps out into the ruins of what was once the plaza.

In contrast to the rest of Yongwan, the plaza is rather barren of debris with the exceptions of the cracked bell lying on its side and the ruins of the announcement tower. However, Minseok’s attention is immediately drawn to the crater in the center of the plaza, one deep enough that if Minseok stands in the center, he wouldn’t be able to see over the edge.

It sends a shudder down Minseok’s spine because he can still see a grievously wounded Lu Han lying in the center of the pit, unconscious from overexerting his power to block the enemy’s attack. The strain had crippled Lu Han for months, leaving him unable to use his power without suffering a severe headache, and Lu Han had only started to heal from it recently. If Minseok hadn’t arrived in time, then Lu Han…

“Excuse me?”

Minseok starts and turns to see a young woman standing a few paces behind him. She sways uncertainly under his attention but eventually steps closer, wringing her hands as she speaks, “I’m sorry to interrupt your patrol, sir, but I have a request to make.”

Nodding, Minseok fully faces the woman, but the weight that had settled in his chest doesn’t disappear despite him turning his back on the crater. “Go ahead.”

His encouragement emboldens the woman, and she straightens up and says, “I was wondering if you could make some ice shelters for the workers. You see, it gets really hot after high noon, and I’m worried that people might get heatstroke from working…” She trails off then, casting a glance at a pair of young men nearby who are struggling with a rather stubborn plank.

“Of course,” Minseok agrees, “I’ll get started on that right away.”

Relief spreads across the woman’s face and she thanks Minseok profusely before hurrying away to rejoin the two men she had been looking at. As her footsteps fade, the sound of rushing wind replaces it and a shadow falls over Minseok. He looks up to see Sehun floating down to him amidst fluttering sheets of paper.

“Hyung,” Sehun says as soon as he’s within earshot, “some civilians came to me about a heat issue.”

“Too hot in the afternoon to work safely?” Minseok asks, and Sehun nods. “I just received a similar concern. I’m planning to make ice shelters for people to cool down in.”

“I also have an idea,” Sehun states, “If you can create a cold source, I can use my wind to push the cold air through Yongwan and keep people cool.”

That sounds like a much better idea than ice shelters, so Minseok creates a pillar of ice in the crater. It grows until it towers over the buildings, shimmering under the sun. A faint veil of condensation drifts from the structure, falling to the ground where it gathers in a cloud around the base of the ice.

It’s going to start melting in the face of the growing heat, so Minseok will have to check on it at some point. The first time he does so reveals that the ice pillar is still standing tall, leaving Minseok with nothing to do aside from joining the civilians of Yongwan for a brief lunch break of cold noodles.

Two women approach Minseok as he helps the cooks clean up the empty bowls and used chopsticks. A cursory glance tells him that they are sisters, and one of them is clutching several pieces of jewelry in her hands.

Minseok hands a stack of bowls to one of the cooks and turns to the pair. “Do you need help with something?”

The sisters exchange glances and one of them starts to speak, wringing her hands as she asks in a soft voice, “We…have something that we’re thinking of doing, but we wanted a second opinion…”

She trails off and casts another look at her sister, who offers a supportive nod.

Minseok smiles and nods at the jewelry. “Is it about the jewelry? They look very pretty.”

Upon hearing Minseok’s praise, the sisters seem to relax a little. The one who had spoken before replies, “Yes…we’ve both liked making jewelry since we were young so we thought…with the aftermath of the war and all…we were thinking of selling jewelry to make some money.” She looks at him earnestly. “What do you think?”

There is a hopeful spark in her eyes, one that tells Minseok how badly she wants him to approve of the plan. It reminds him of how his little sister would always be so eager to show off her crafts to him, so Minseok takes a more careful look at the jewelry in the second sister’s hands. The pieces glinting in the sun are well-made, a show of the women’s talent and experience.

“These look amazing,” Minseok comments as he observes a pair of earrings decorated with lilac gemstones. He thinks they would look good on Lu Han. “Have you thought of how you’re going to get people to buy and how much you’re going to sell for?”

The woman balks a little. “Um, well, we thought that the people who are moving could tell others about our jewelry…and we’re not so sure about prices yet. We were thinking about something like fifteen thousand won for rings, twenty-five thousand for earrings…”

Minseok nods thoughtfully as she trails off. “With how well-made these are, I think you can raise the price. Thirty-five thousand won for earrings instead of twenty-five thousand isn’t unreasonable to ask for. I know I wouldn’t mind handing over thirty-five thousand for _that_.” He points at the pair of lilac earrings.

“O-Okay.”

“As for spreading the name around, I wouldn’t recommend solely relying on the people leaving Yongwan. Maybe some of them will settle in a place with a lot of people, but there is no promise that those people will travel all the way here just to buy jewelry.”

Their expressions fall, but Minseok isn’t done. “If you want to make as much money as possible, it would be better to save up and move to one of the bigger cities. This way, you’ll have access to a much larger pool of potential customers.”

They nod in lieu of Minseok’s advice, eyebrows furrowed as they mull over Minseok’s advice. Finally, the one holding the jewelry says solemnly, “We didn’t think of that before, so we’ll work it out together later. Thank you for your insight.”

“It was no problem.” Minseok points at the pair of lilac earrings. “By the way, would you be willing to sell that right now?”

Smiles immediately split their faces and in a matter of seconds, Minseok is carefully tucking the earrings into one of his pockets and the sisters are happily clutching thirty-five thousand won as they head home. Minseok smiles as he watches them go, making a mental list of people in the city who would likely be interested in buying jewelry.

The rest of the stay is uneventful. There isn’t much for Minseok to do other than continue helping the civilians rebuild and swap out the first ice tower with a new one, although the doctor of Yongwan Province does approach him to ask him to pass on a request to Yixing for more pain medication. Minseok readily agrees.

As the sun starts to set, Baekhyun and Kyungsoo arrive to relieve Minseok and Sehun from their post. After filling in the two on the progress made in rebuilding, Minseok and Sehun bid goodbye to Baekhyun and Kyungsoo and begin flying back to Hongjin together.

The first part of their travel is quiet, nothing more than the sound of the wind whistling in Minseok’s ear. Then, Sehun speaks, “It won’t be long now. Before life can go back to normal.”

Humming in agreement, Minseok thinks about Lu Han in the coffee shop and smiles.

He finishes off his day with a report to Junmyeon, detailing the progress of recovery efforts in Yongwan and passing on the doctor’s request for more medication, and finally starts heading to Lu Han’s coffee shop. The city air is hot and stuffy, so Minseok raises his head and huffs out a long breath. A chill settles around him, and soon, small crystals of snow are dancing around him as he walks.

Surrounded by the drifting flakes, Minseok stops just before the ‘CLOSED’ sign hanging on the front door and peers inside. Lu Han is sitting on one of the stools at the counter, hunched over and writing in a book with a calculator next to him. He looks up when Minseok knocks on the front door and stands up to start putting his things away.

A minute later, after making sure that everything in the coffee shop is safely stored away, Lu Han and Minseok start walking home. Minseok’s conjured snowflakes float around them like a gaggle of playful fairies, shielding them from the relentless remnants of the afternoon heat.

Minseok reaches for Lu Han’s hand. “How was your day?”

“Quiet,” Lu Hand replies, letting Minseok interlace their fingers. “At least, until Jongdae and Chanyeol came along. They almost started fighting because Chanyeol wouldn’t stop teasing Jongdae about Junmyeon.”

A loud laugh escapes Minseok and he quickly silences it, knowing that Lu Han hates it when people get rowdy in his shop. “How did Jongdae’s attempt at making coffee go today?”

One corner of Lu Han’s mouth twitches. “He didn’t ask today,” he says, “Too preoccupied with trying to zap Chanyeol.”

This time, Minseok doesn’t hide his laughter, and Lu Han laughs with him. It feels good to laugh with Lu Han, especially after his visit to Yongwan. It chases away the dregs of the war memories that had followed him out of Yongwan and leaves him feeling a little lighter as the weight in his chest fades alongside his chuckles.

“Oh, right, I got something for you,” Minseok says, reaching into the pocket of his trousers and pulling out the pair of earrings that he had bought earlier. He holds them out to Lu Han. “Do you like them?”

Lu Han looks awestruck as he takes the earrings, gently touching the lilac gem with the pad of his finger. “Minseok, these are beautiful,” he murmurs, gazing at the jewelry as though they were pieces of gold. “Where did you get them?”

“There are a pair of sisters making them to sell in Yongwan,” Minseok says, watching Lu Han. His husband never fails to captivate him, whether it be back on the battlefield in Yongwan or behind the counter in the coffee shop.

A snowflake gets caught in Lu Han’s hair, joining several of its siblings in adorning Lu Han’s head the way ornaments decorate a Christmas tree. The white speckles the auburn strands, emphasizing Lu Han’s beauty in such a way that leaves Minseok speechless.

Minseok may have power over ice, but Lu Han is the true king of frost.

Lu Han dangles one of the earrings before Minseok’s nose, snapping Minseok out of his trance. “Let’s wear them together,” Lu Han says with a smirk that says he knew exactly what Minseok was thinking about.

Minseok sighs but accepts the earring nonetheless. “I bought them for you though.”

“You did,” Lu Han agrees as he removes one of his studs and wears the new earring. “But good things should be shared, no?”

A small smile creeps across Minseok’s face as he mimics Lu Han’s actions, replacing his aquamarine stud. The two of them gaze at each other, sharing a moment of unadulterated appreciation of the sight before them. For Minseok, seeing the snow dance around Lu Han and the lilac gem reflecting the light from the nearest streetlamp makes him forget to breathe. Lu Han must feel something similar, judging by the expression on his face as he stares at Minseok.

Years ago, when the war was still going on, Minseok had clung to Lu Han’s presence with desperation, afraid that it would be the last time they got to see each other. Now, each day passes at a more leisurely stride as they are no longer drowning in the fear that one of them will not come back alive.

For Minseok, walking this pace of leisure with Lu Han is the ultimate source of his happiness.


End file.
